Our Little Family
by Brinchen86
Summary: Being married, having children and a big family is an interesting challenge. Harry and Ginny manage it together. - Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione


**Title:** Our Little Family  
**Summary:** Being married, having children and a big family is an interesting challenge. Harry and Ginny manage it together.  
**Pairings:** Harry/Ginny, with Ron/Hermione  
**Characters:** Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, the Weasleys  
**Rating:** PG - 13  
**Disclaimer:** I DON'T own anyone or anything. I DON'T own the characters. The Harry Potter Series belongs to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. The fanfic is written for fun, NOT for profit.  
**Author's note:** This story was inspired by a conversation at fanforum in the Harry/Ginny thread and will focus on the couple's marriage and family life.

* * *

**Chapter 1: I Do**

The Burrow had always been a busy and noisy environment, but this morning, it seemed like the entire Wizarding World had gathered at the place. In fact, that was almost true: it had been Molly Weasley's work that had prevented everyone who knew his name from showing up at his and Ginny's wedding.

Their wedding. Harry shivered at the thought, in a mix of excitement and nervousness. It felt like yesterday when he had asked her to become his wife. For much longer, he had been entirely convinced that she was the one. The only one. The love of his life.

His beloved Ginny. He had regretted that he hadn't realised right from the beginning how much she could offer exactly what he needed the most.

But he had learnt that regret was a waste of time a long time ago. They were together now, and they were happy. Nothing else mattered.

Straightening himself, Harry took a deep breath. "Calm down," he whispered quietly to himself. "It's just a wedding."

Just a wedding. Mentally, he rolled his eyes at himself. Just a wedding. He was only getting married to the woman he loved since his sixth year at Hogwarts. Not a big deal. Not at all.

He was physically startled when the door to the small room, where he had changed into his dressing robes, was opened. With huge eyes, he stared back at Ron before a sigh of relief escaped him. Ron was the only one he wanted to have around himself in this particular moment.

"Hey man," his best friend greeted him, smirking a little awkwardly. "How are you feeling? A little nervous I could imagine?"

"Uh...yeah." Harry held his breath for a moment, then he released it with another deep sigh. "Ron, what am I getting myself into?"

"What?" Closing the door behind him, Ron stepped closer with in disbelief widened eyes. "You don't want to tell me that you're thinking about getting cold feet, do you? I mean, you're my best friend and all, but Ginny's my sister and if..."

"Of course I'm not getting cold feet." Harry rolled his eyes. "As if I'd do that to her."

"Well, you broke up before." Ron shrugged.

"That was a whole different story. I broke up with her to protect her," Harry reminded him. "Would you have preferred to take her with us instead, on the horcrux hunt?"

"Certainly not!" Ron shuddered at the thought. Then, shaking his head to clear his mind, he stepped closer. "So what is it then? If you don't plan to run off, what's bothering you?"

"I don't know." Harry shrugged. "It's just that...when I get married to her..." He paused, trying to sort his thoughts. What exactly was the matter? Somewhere in the depth of his mind lay the answer, but it seemed so odd, so silly that he didn't dare to speak it out.

Ron wasn't easy to fool though.

"Come on, Harry," he said. "Am I your best friend and best man or not? Tell me what's making you so nervous. I promise I won't laugh. I'm not Malfoy after all."

"Fine." Harry ran a hand through his wild black hair, which wouldn't even cooperate on this special day. He hesitated for another moment before he tried to explain, "See...for years, until I found out I'm a wizard, I didn't know what it's like to be part of a family. The Dursleys made sure I never forgot that I wasn't welcome in their house, and it got worse every year. Then, when I met you and your family, I found out what it's like to be liked by others. What it's like when others care. As much as I loved that, it was a challenge, too, because it was so new to me. And now...when I'm going to marry Ginny, I'll be an official part of your family. I'll belong to you. You for example...you're going to be my brother-in-law. It's so amazing that...I don't dare to believe it's really true. That I'm not just dreaming and going to wake up one day, in the cupboard under the stairs. I'm going to experience what it's like to be loved. Actively experience it. And it's hard for me to believe that after so many cold and emotionless years with the Dursleys, this is truly happening."

Sighing once more, he ended his speech, looking up at his friend with an awkward, slightly embarrassed expression. Ron was gazing back at him with raised eyebrows, disbelieving, but not like he wanted to tell him he was crazy.

"Really?" he asked instead. When Harry nodded, he shook his head. "Harry...that sounds as if you're only going to be part of our family when you and Ginny are actually married. But you do know you've been pretty much a Weasley since the day you set a foot into the Burrow for the first time?"

"Yeah, but..." Harry started.

"No but," Ron interrupted him. "You've always been part of our family, wedding or not. I can't imagine what it's been like to grow up the way you did, man, but I know my family, and they've always accepted you as a part of us. Why else do you think Mum kept on sending you a Weasley pullover as well every Christmas? So you wouldn't be sad because the Dursleys never sent you stuff? Surely not, because she knew Hermione and I would buy something for you. Besides, Hermione's parents also never sent you gifts. She made those for you because she and Dad kinda adopted you. So don't worry. This here...this crazy house with all those crazy people, myself and my little sister included, won't just disappear. We're going to be by your side." He paused. "Besides, after everything you've been through because of...Voldemort, don't you think you deserve all the awesomeness in the world? Don't you think we all do?"

Ron's face had reddened during his emotional speech. Now he had returned to awkwardly grinning, waiting for a reaction. But there wasn't anything Harry could have said, even if he had wanted to. Ron's words had touched his heart, in a way that was still so new, despite all the years he was obviously considered an adopted Weasley.

For a second, mental images of a certain event years ago pushed their way into his mind. Harry remembered how Malfoy had tried to convince him that he should be involved with the 'right people'. Back then already, he hadn't hesitated to make clear that he knew very well who the right people for him were. Not for a single second, he had regretted his decision, and knowing that the feelings were mutual meant even more to him.

"Thank you," he managed to say eventually, his voice shaking slightly.

"Nah, no problem." Ron's grin widened slightly. "Are we going to cry now? Because that'd be really embarrassing. We should rather leave that to Mum, Hermione and Ginny." He paused. "Speaking of Ginny...ready to get married?"

Before Harry got the chance to answer, a knocking on the door interrupted him. The door was opened and the grinning faces of Fred and George appeared. By now, it was easier to know which twin was who: George only had one ear, and Fred still showed scars, caused by the almost deadly injuries he had sustained during the Battled of Hogwarts. Both men had changed a lot due to the events that had almost resulted in the loss of the person they loved more than anything in the world, but their humour hadn't been lost along the way.

"What's up, Harry?" George wanted to know.

"Are you ready to marry our baby sister?" Fred wanted to know. "Hermione says she's getting impatient, so maybe you should consider coming out of here."

"One may speculate that you could get cold feet eventually," George pointed out.

"Never." Harry smiled back at them before he turned his attention back to Ron. "Never," he repeated, throwing another short glance into the mirror behind him before he followed his brothers-in-law.

* * *

The huge tent was even more crowded than it had been on the wedding of Fleur and Bill. So many people, family and friends, were excitedly waiting for the big moment. But Harry didn't pay attention to them at all. He knew Ron was standing by his side, knew that Hermione was standing across of her boyfriend, as maid-of-honour. Ron had almost tripped over his own feet when he had seen his girlfriend in her beautiful light blue dress. She looked amazing indeed, but the only person Harry wanted to see was one red-haired woman.

So focused on the entrance, afraid he might miss the important moment, he didn't notice how the whispering in the tent had picked up until said entrance parted and Mr. Weasley, along with his daughter, stepped inside. The moment Harry laid eyes on his future wife, everything and everyone else was forgotten completely.

Harry had caught Hermione and Mrs. Weasley gushing over the wedding dress a couple of times, but nothing he had heard could have prepared him for this sight. There she stood, in a long, white dress, leaving her shoulders exposed, and so long that it gently brushed over the carpeted floor.

The veil couldn't hide her fiery red hair though, neither could it distract from the beauty that was her face. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement, her cheeks were rosy, and a happy smile, matching his own, was greeting him.

And then, their eyes met. Harry shivered once more, entirely excited this time. Their eyes stayed locked all the way until Mr. Weasley handed his daughter over to her future husband. Their hands tightened around each other, as if they were trying to hold on to something stable. For both of them, a huge step was ahead, but once again it was the strong connection, uniting them, which offered the needed strength and support.

The wizard, who was supposed to lead them through the ceremony, started to speak, but Harry heard nothing of what he had to say. With his eyes still focused on the woman in front of him, he allowed his thoughts to drift off like they demanded to, and vivid images filled his mind.

There she was, a little girl with fiery red hair and warm brown eyes, standing by her mother's side, watching him excitedly while he tried to figure out how to get to platform 9 ¾. A year later, she would join them at Hogwarts, and would blush bright red whenever she'd see him. Poor Ginny would have to go through a nightmare during her second year, and he would never forget what it had been like when he had seen her, so still and cold, and how relieved he had been when she had eventually woken up in the Chamber of Secrets again.

Two years later, she had finally understood, had listened to Hermione. She was showing her true face ever since then, was no longer shy and hesitant, and Harry remembered how beautiful she had been at the Yule Ball, dancing with Neville. He also remembered how talented she had been a year later, as a member of Dumbledore's Army, which she had revived together with Neville while the trio had been hunting for horcruxes.

Brave and strong: that was the Ginny he knew. She had become one of the best members of Gryffindor's Quidditch team, and suddenly, during their sixth year, Harry had realised that the littled brown eyed, red-haired girl he had met at King's Cross had grown up. He would never forget their first kiss, so sweet and perfect. He would never forget the joy and happiness that came with their relationship, so pure and amazing that it had almost felt surreal. He would also never forget the pain that had followed when he hadn't been able to do more but view her dot, moving across the Marauder's Map. Their reunion couldn't have come soon enough.

Ginny. Strong and determined, beautiful and understanding. There she was, in a stunning wedding dress, smiling at him in this way that still turned his knees into jelly, no matter how often he had already seen it. Tears were glistening in her eyes, and only now, Harry realised he was at the edge of shedding some tears of his own. Memories of all those years had brought them up. The future that was lying ahead caused a strong warmth deep within him that made him feel like he could conquer the world.

He was part of something. Part of a family. And soon, he would be the husband of the most wonderful woman he knew. Of his soulmate. Of the one who had always understood him, better than anyone else.

Ginny's "I do" eventually cut through the fog that had been clouding his mind.

"I do," he said as well, his heart beating faster as she squeezed his hands slightly. He could hear how the wizard spoke a few more words. The only ones he understood though were his final ones.

"You may kiss the bride now, Mr. Potter," he announced.

And Harry didn't hesitate for even the split of a second. He pulled Ginny into a tight hug and kissed her, deep and passionately. He didn't care for all those guests that were watching them, for her brothers that whistled, for his friends and parents-in-law who were clapping in happiness. He was holding his wife, tightly in his arms, and in this moment, believing that he was the luckiest man in the world was almost hilariously easy.


End file.
